


Principium

by Yunica



Series: Pueritia Amicus [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, First Meetings, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:22:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22034761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yunica/pseuds/Yunica
Summary: The first time they meet is on that park bench. The first time they actually meet is by the will of Edelgard's uncle.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & My Unit | Byleth
Series: Pueritia Amicus [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1586014
Comments: 3
Kudos: 73





	Principium

**Author's Note:**

> Tagging is hard. Do I add more, do I add less?
> 
> I've been reading fics for a long time now, but this is my first time actually posting something. This will probably be a part of a series of related one-shots...hopefully. It'll go through some pre-game stuff, game stuff, and then maybe post-game stuff. :)

Edelgard often thinks of the Imperial Palace’s halls, and of her siblings’ laughter. They had only arrived in the Kingdom three weeks ago, and she was already desperate to get out of here. Her mother quietly accepts their situation, and her uncle does not explain why he had whisked them away from the Empire in the dead of night. She finds her annoyance building with every day that passes. This place was stifling. The Kingdom does not feel like home, and Edelgard wishes she were anywhere else.

Today, her uncle had left earlier to attend to some business in the city, and Edelgard had managed to sneak out of the manor, wanting to explore the stalls and shops down at the markets. She navigates the roads, trying her best to remember the way to the markets from when she had seen it from her window, and takes care to stay out of the crowd’s way by sticking to the sides of the buildings lining the road. She is able to find the market successfully, and spends the next hour browsing through all the stalls.

Edelgard only feels how tired and aching her feet are when she turns to leave a stall after having watched the stall’s owner put on a show using his wares. Searching for a place to rest, she finds a bench in the park nearby that is already occupied by another girl. Edelgard approaches the bench and waits for the other girl to acknowledge her presence. When the other girl does not look up she places a hand on the seat and asks, “May I sit here?” The other girl only glances at her and nods before turning her attention back towards the ground.

Sitting and stretching out her legs, Edelgard peeks at the girl. She looks to be about Edelgard’s own age, slightly older perhaps, and her hair is a dark midnight blue. But what catches Edelgard’s attention is her eyes, a striking and vivid blue. She carries two swords, the one resting across her lap looked to be a length that someone of her size could wield, while the other is much longer, the handle rested against her shoulder and the tip of the blade balanced against the floor. Curious, Edelgard chances a question. “Are you waiting for someone?”

The girl stares at the ground blankly and stays silent until Edelgard finally turns away, thinking she will not respond. The delayed answer comes, “Yes. My father.”

“I see.” It is silent again after, and Edelgard rests for another moment before standing. She should probably start heading back if she wants to be sure she makes it back before her uncle. “I must be going now. Thank you for allowing me to sit here.”

Surprisingly, the girl actually looks up at her and nods, “You’re welcome.”

* * *

Byleth watches the other girl run off and disappear into the market’s crowd. Her eyes had been an interesting purple, identical to the eye color of the man her father was currently talking to inside. They had only recently finished a job here in the Kingdom, and were taking a day to rest before searching for more work. The man had approached them out of nowhere, claiming that he was looking for the Blade Breaker. It was an odd title that Byleth did not recognize, but her father seemed to. He had been wary of talking to the man, but opted to give him a chance when there was the offer of gold for their services.

She continues to patiently wait. Her father and the man take a while to come out of the building after the girl leaves. When he reaches her, he ruffles her hair and tells her that they will be staying in the Kingdom for a time. He had accepted the job they were being offered, and would be working for this man, who introduces himself as Volkhard Arundel.

“Hello. Byleth, is it? Jeralt here has told me much about your skills with a sword. Despite being so young, he boasts that you can already defeat many of the mercenaries in his company. You have potential, and I am quite interested in seeing how you will grow. I have a niece that is about your age, and I would like you to become her bodyguard.” Arundel smiles down at her, and she nods at him after glancing at her father.

Arundel’s attention turns away from her and towards Jeralt. They share a few more words, an agreement to show up at Arundel’s home later today to meet their charges, before Arundel takes his leave. Byleth feels her father’s hand on her shoulder as they watch him go. He squeezes her shoulder to draw her attention and when she looks up, he says, “Looks like this is our next job. So much for a break, huh? I get why he would offer to house us, but it’s odd that he offered us so much gold just for a simple bodyguard job. Regardless though, I won’t say no to easy gold.”

They had not planned on staying in the Kingdom long, but who would have thought that someone would come looking for the Blade Breaker.

* * *

The two of them show up at the location Arundel had provided Jeralt a few hours later, and are greeted at the door by one of the servants. A butler invites them in and they are directed to wait in the sitting room for Arundel, who arrives shortly followed by a young girl and a woman.

It is the girl with the purple eyes from the bench earlier, and Byleth stares at her. She also seems to instantly recognize Byleth. Arundel ushers the girl forward, and introduces her. “Byleth, this is my niece, Edelgard, that I had spoken of before. You will be protecting her starting today so I hope you two get along well.” He leaves them to go over to acquaint her father and the woman.

They stare at each other until Edelgard speaks. “Hello, I regret that we did not get a chance to exchange names earlier. My name is Edelgard. I suppose you will be my bodyguard starting today.”

Gaze blank, Byleth nods and responds, “I’m Byleth.”

“It is nice to meet you, Byleth. Please protect me well.”

**Author's Note:**

> I do have a Twitter @yyunica. I don't post often (or ever, kind of a lurker ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯), but feel free to message me there.


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